Winter storm warning in effect until midnight

DOVER – A winter storm warning remains in effect until midnight, according to AccuWeather, which is expecting 10-14 inches of snow to accumulate before it finally tapers off..

AccuWeather's Kristina Pydynowski predicted that most of the accumulation would take place by 7 p.m.

“Lighter stuff may linger until midnight, but the heavier band will be for early this evening,” Pydynowski said, adding that the snow will continue to be heavy, wet and stick to the roads, falling at about an inch and hour, leaving roads dangerously slippery.

Pydynowski expected the storm to dump up to 16 inches of snow in the areas surrounding Dover.

Temperatures were expected to hover in the upper 20s and lower 30s throughout the storm, with wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour. Visibility will be reduced to a quarter mile or less at times. Temperatures will drop tonight to 21 degrees.

AccuWeather said power outages are possible near the immediate coast, yet Public Service of New Hampshire is only reporting about 25 outages in Greenland and Manchester at this time and Central Maine Power maps have not shown any loss of power as of 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Town offices in Lee, Somersworth and Lebanon, Maine have closed for the day. Dover's City Hall is still open.

Most local schools are closed and the University of New Hampshire in Durham has curtailed operations.

Dover and Lebanon, Maine's recycling centers have closed and Waste Management has postponed trash collection today. The collection schedule will be behind by one day for the rest of the week.

Amtrak Downeaster is still running on time and will continue to maintain its published schedule.

Pydynowski said they are watching another system that may drop significant snow in our area on Monday, but that indications right now say it will stay to our south. “But we can't rule it out just yet,” she said.

AccuWeather reports winter weather patterns will favor colder storms through early April, translating to higher heating bills and more money and effort for snow removal for communities, despite the official arrival of spring tomorrow.

According to AccuWeather, between this storm and the storm from March 7, Boston has more than doubled their normal March total of 7.8 inches of snow.

According to a fosters.com poll, 71% of our readers are fed up with winter and ready for it to be over.